Sunderland must return to the safety-first strategy that kept the club in the Premier League last season, according to John O’Shea.

The Black Cats’ 2-0 reverse at Stoke City - their sixth defeat in eight games this term - left the Wearsiders rooted to the foot of the table, with a four-point gap between themselves and fourth-bottom.

Last season, then-boss Sam Allardyce prioritised clean sheets above all else and that recipe proved effective as Sunderland beat the drop with a game to spare.

But the Wearsiders have not managed a shutout since securing survival, having conceded in each of their last nine league games and with both Stoke goals at the weekend coming as a result of sloppy defending.

Sunderland are the Premier League’s great survivors having escaped relegation for four seasons running, and the O’Shea says they know what needs to be done.

“We have to look at ourselves, first and foremost and make sure we stop making those errors. Clean sheets are what has kept us in the league over the last couple of seasons.”

Allardyce was able to name an unchanged team for seven games at the end of last season as Sunderland reached safety, but a crippling injury list has meant there has been no such luxury for his successor David Moyes.

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Asked whether the injury situation is one of the worst he has experienced, O’Shea said: “Possibly, in my time.

“The team, as a unit we haven’t been able to get a consistency into the team either. That is very important.

“You have seen when we have gone on good runs there has been a consistent team selection. Injuries have gone against us recently but the boys are working hard to get back.

“The players that we have out, you are possibly talking five, six, seven starters. Take that out of any Premier League team and it will have a massive impact.”

Sunderland face another pressure test this weekend when they visit West Ham, who moved out of the relegation zone on Saturday thanks to a win at Crystal Palace.

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O’Shea said: “Every game we go into we have to take something from it. The position in the table doesn’t lie.

“We have to give ourselves the best chance as a unit, the team, keeping a clean sheet and fighting better for the second balls and winning those second balls.

“They are so important in the Premier League because of the quality of the players.

“If you are getting on the ball more in attacking positions, you have quality players to create something for you. We haven’t been doing enough of that.”

Joe Allen scored both goals for Stoke, one inside the first 10 minutes which wrecked Sunderland’s aim of frustrating a side that not won at home all season, and then making sure of the points by adding the second in injury time at the end of the first half.

“You have to give yourselves the best chance to get something from games in the Premier League, away from home especially, frustrate the home team and create more chances and hit teams on the counter,” said O’Shea.